The Zanzibar Archipelago consists of several islands lying off the coast of East Africa in the Indian Ocean. There are four main islands, three primary islands with human populations, a fourth coral island that serves as an essential breeding ground for seabirds, plus a number of smaller islets that surround them and an isolated tiny islet.
Most of the archipelago belongs to the Zanzibar semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, while Mafia Island and its associated islets fall under the suzerainty of the Pwani Region on the mainland.